I wonder...

...why folks use the N word? And I'm sincerely wondering here. It has never had the chance to ever become part of my everyday vocabulary, though occasionally I'll say it if I'm singing a song that contains it. I have never called a friend that word, though. But the majority of my friends and associates do. Why? It really confuses me. It makes me feel like there's this black youth culture that I'm simply not privy to and that I don't understand, even though I'm young and black.